Why Do I Forget Things When Walking Through Doorways?💭❌

Do you ever walk through a doorway and magically forget EVERYTHING you were thinking about?

It's a frustrating and baffling phenomenon. It almost always happens when I have a good idea or remember something I needed to do, but the exact moment I step through the threshold of the doorframe... POOF! Like it was never a thought in the first place.

It’s as if the doorway itself has some sort of mind-wiping superpower. Rest assured, you’re not alone. This is a common experience and one that leaves many of us feeling puzzled and frustrated.

The Science Behind It

This isn’t just random forgetfulness—there’s actual science at play. It's been coined the “doorway effect.”

The idea is that when you move from one space into another, your brain recognizes a shift in context. Each room and environment serves as a kind of “event boundary” for your memory.

When we cross that event boundary (like moving from the living room to the kitchen), the change in the physical environment actually signals our brains to also transition from our previous headspace to prepare for new information.

It's like switching tabs on a browser. While we’re on one tab, we see all the information we need. But once we switch to a different tab, the data from the previous one might not be top of mind.

When we go back to the original tab, the information is right where we left it. Similarly, returning to the previous room often helps us “re-enter” the mental context we were in before, making it easier to recall what we had forgotten.

In other words, walking through a doorway can trigger our brains to “save” the mental state we were just in and load up a fresh one for the new environment. This can be extremely useful for focusing on what’s in front of us—but not so great when we really wanted to hang onto that idea we had just moments before.

What Can I Do?

• Sing it, Honey! Use the melody from whatever earworm song has been in your head lately to repeat what you're on your way to do after the doorway.

• Technology to the Rescue: STOP where you're standing, write it on your phone, and lock it on that screen.

• Bathroom Markers: My best ideas always seem to occur on the toilet or in the shower. So I started keeping dry erase markers within reach to write ideas on the mirror or my arm.

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You're Unforgettable, ;)

Coach Brooke